"I feel great. Just a spasm in my back, I guess," Duda told reporters in the clubhouse before the Mets played Detroit in their second Grapefruit League game. "We'll take a few days now, instead of taking two weeks down the road. Just being cautious. In a couple days, I should be ready to go."

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Duda missed 107 games last season due to a stress fracture in his back, and Mets manager Terry Collins said Saturday that "Lucas is not ready to play, in my opinion." Dominic Smith, the 21-year-old infield prospect, was in Sunday's lineup at first. It's possible Neil Walker and Jay Bruce could see time at first, too, if Duda's health woes continue.

Duda, 31, said he did not anticipate receiving any further cortisone shots. He at first said he didn't think the hip issue was related to his stress fracture, but later said, "It's definitely connected. I think it's just a spasm, that kind of let the pressure out of the back. I don't foresee it being an issue."

NOTES: X-rays on catcher Kevin Plawecki's left knee came back negative, the club announced Sunday. Plawecki was injured in a collision at home plate in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals and had to leave the game. "Thank God I didn't have my leg planted," Plawecki said Sunday. … Neil Walker was in the lineup Sunday at second base, the first game Walker played in after back surgery last September.